


Another life ago

by UnwrittenPage



Category: Umineko no Naku Koro ni | When the Seagulls Cry, Vocaloid
Genre: Deja Vu, F/M, Incest, Not really incest though, Past Lives, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-21
Updated: 2016-05-21
Packaged: 2018-06-09 16:23:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6914527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnwrittenPage/pseuds/UnwrittenPage
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Meiko couldn´t exactly say that this was the first time she received unwanted attention from some irritating man but she could definitely say that the others had been far easier to ignore. Usually you could just turn your back towards them and pretend to read the newspaper or look outside the window but usually you couldn´t almost LITERALLY feel their eyes on you to the point that you almost got burns on your neck, and usually you didn´t feel as though you´d seen them before but couldn´t for the life of you place their faces in your memory".</p>
<p>Battler x Rosa, and KaiMei. Plays around with the idea of reincarnation. Can be interpreted as Rosatrice (and yes, I know that that theory isn´t canon).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Another life ago

**Author's Note:**

> Hm... so I don´t know how much I should reveal about this in advance in order not to give too many spoilers but I will definitely say that if you´re not a fan of Battler x Rosa or in general Rosa herself this might not be the fic for you. This also has hints of Rosatrice, a theory I`m well aware isn´t canon (we all know Yasutrice is) but for pretty much that very same reason is wonderful to play around with. And well... in the hopes that this won´t ruin KaiMei for you for all day to come let´s get this fic started xD.

Meiko focused on that red painting on the wall pretending that she didn't notice that blue haired idiot starring at her from the other side of the room. That guy had been starring at her for almost an hour, a goofy grin on his face and even as she turned her head away it was as though she could still feel those round ridiculously cheerful eyes on her neck.  
Irritating, beyond irritating! Some people truly didn't know how to keep their eyes to themselves did they? Meiko couldn't exactly say that this was the first time she received unwanted attention from some irritating man but she could definitely say that the others had been far easier to ignore. Usually you could just turn your back towards them and pretend to read the newspaper or look outside the window but usually you couldn't almost LITERALLY feel their eyes on you to the point that you almost got burns on your neck, and usually you didn't feel as though you'd seen them somewhere before but couldn't for the life of you place their faces in your memory.  
Nonetheless Meiko was going to give this a shot. Picking her cellphone up from her purse she pretended to be busy texting hoping desperately that he would get the hint. But as she were at it though couldn't this also be an excellent opportunity to actually CHECK said messages for once. Good idea perhaps, albeit unwelcome.  
She hated it when clients texted her during the weekends or when Gumi persisted on calling her about some new fabric that Meiko had repeatedly called hideous and REPEATEDLY called 'an awfully stupid downright rotten idea' to use for this next collection of jeans. Privacy and time off! Presidents for the design-companies needed them too.  
But Meiko didn't even have time to open said inbox before a cheerful barytone voice interrupted her in the process.  
"Excuse me mam but I have a feeling I've seen you somewhere before".  
Meiko didn't even bother hiding her annoyance as she turned around to glare at the blue haired man. Sure, she definitely had a feeling she'd seen him somewhere before as well but it was not as though she was going to turn herself inside out to try and remember. If she'd forgotten about him it was most likely for a reason, and considering how much he was already wearing her patience out she had a pretty good idea as to what that reason may be.  
"Really?" was the only thing she replied.  
"Yeah", the man nodded, eyes lingering on her as though she was one of these age-old paintings and he was desperately trying catch sight on how far back it went, "it's your eyes you know... and that thing you're doing right now", he raised a meaningful eyebrow.  
"What thing?" if Meiko had been annoyed before it was nothing compared to what she was now. Could this guy at least speak in comprehensible sentences?  
"Yeah", the blue-haired man scratched himself behind the head, "it's that face you're doing right now".  
'What face?' was the question she didn't even ask because whatever face he meant it was not as though she was interested in his answer. Not at all.  
"The one face that looks as though you're going to chew me up and spit me out into that container", the blue haired man grinned as he nodded towards the trash-can a few meters away from them, "I'm definitely sure I've seen that one a million times before".  
A million times before? Meiko most certainly wasn't surprised in the slightest. With that latest grin of his she was surprised that it wasn't a billion.

Yeah, that grin! That irritating, teasing, I-know-absolutely-everything-about-you-grin, that he tended too... Wait what? Meiko stopped herself in the midst of her thoughts as yet another flash of recognition flashed through her mind. She most certainly would have remembered him if they'd seen each other eye to eye so many times that she'd use the word 'tended' wouldn't she? Wouldn't she?  
"Remembering something perhaps?" that irritating grin again, amusement flashing through his blue eyes, "perhaps you can enlighten me?"  
Meiko let out a sigh. Never hesitate, that had always been the rule. Delay your reply for 1 second and they will immediately assume that you actually want to have this conversation.  
"Look Mr", she said in that uncompromising voice she'd practiced over the years, brown eyes mercilessly looking into the blue before her, "I don't know what you're after, or why you're still here even though your presence's so obviously undesired but I'm not going to follow along with it and I'm definitely not enlightening you on a topic I know nothing about".  
"Oh!" the man chuckled, "but those lovely eyes says you do. But don't fear!" he held up his hands disarmingly, "I'm not here to philander you".  
'As if you'd have a chance too'. Meiko snorted. Always so damn confident in himself that...  
That what? Was it as though she was supposed to remember his name or something? If words like 'always' and 'tended' popped up inside her head she surely should shouldn't she?  
"I can see there's ringing a bell there!" the man looked at her with that godforsaken grin of his, "why don't you share that train of thought with me?"  
Meiko only hesitated for an instance this time before sending the blue haired nuisance one of the most venomous looks she'd ever given anyone.  
"How about no?" she said, "if there's any bell whatsoever ringing inside my head it is giving me an incurable headache and hurts my ears every bit as much as your voice is doing right now, and if I've indeed forgotten you I'm sure I did so for a reason".  
Meiko didn't know if she'd expected an instant erasure of the man's beyond irritating smile but she sure knew that the man's raised eyebrow and his most definitely instant reply only continued to further ruining her day.  
"Wow, harsh!" he said before grinning meaningfully again, "but at least it's something. If you could also enlighten me as to in which way exactly I was annoying you I'd be most grateful".  
"Why are you annoying me now, you think?" Meiko looked calmly at the man despite of her anger, "if you haven't found out yet it might be a good idea for you to sit down and think about it and if you find out then I'm sure you get a pretty accurate reply to your question".  
The man frowned slightly but didn't seem notably affected.  
"Sure", he shrugged his shoulders, grin as persistent lingering as ever, "I'll give that a go".  
"Onii-chan!"  
Luckily the aggravating moment was interrupted by a woman's voice.  
"You are needed over here! "Immediately the blue haired man turned his head to the side to meet the blue gaze of a pink-haired woman.  
"Eh! Sorry, Luka-chan!" the man smiled excusingly at her, "I'll be there right away".  
"You better!" the woman raised a warning finger at him with an expression on her face that Meiko most associated with her third grade teacher when informing about the endless homework that should have been done one week ago, "so sorry about him", the woman looked at Meiko with an excusing smile.  
"Well... later my darling!" the man sent Meiko a flirtatious wink as he rose to his feet, bowing elegantly.  
"Pfft!" was Meiko's only reply as she rolled her eyes at him, "it's me who should be sorry", she sent the pink-haired woman an apologetic look.  
"Don't worry", the woman raised an eyebrow, "I'm used to it".  
The two shared another look in consort before the two siblings disappeared out of sight, the man with one last wink at Meiko.

_._

"And how did you think that went?" Megurine Luka raised a meaningful eyebrow as she looked back at her older brother.  
"Not my best one", Kaito grinned sheepishly, "I'll admit that", he hung down slightly with his head like a child who'd just been caught playing mobile-games during calculus.  
"I know that flirting is one of your favorite sports", Luka continued with merciless calm, "but if you could keep that one out of your sister's art-exhibition it would be most appreciated".  
"Sorry, Luka-chan", Kaito looked regretfully at the pink haired woman, "I really didn't mean to mess things up for you".  
"It's okey", Luka smiled tiredly, "just make sure to stop it for now".  
"I wasn't really trying to well...", Kaito frowned, looking down at his feet, "or well... kinda", he stopped himself with an extremely guilty face, before it gradually changed to one of extreme concentration, "but don't you think she reminds you of someone?"  
"Who would that be?" Luka frowned.  
"That's the thing", Kaito narrowed his eyes as he focused on the woman, "I don't really know. She just... seems familiar".  
Luka focused long and hard, albeit more discreetly than her brother on their brown haired visitor.  
"Now that you say it", she said in a low voice, "she does seem kind of familiar".  
"Can you remember from where?" Kaito gave her a long, thoughtful look.  
Luka shook her head.  
"Unfortunately I have no idea".  
The two exchanged a glance. This may be a puzzle forever unsolved.

_._

Meiko's heels tapped rhythmically on the sidewalk as she made her way to the station. Luckily the rest of the afternoon had passed relatively smoothly. She had been able to take a look at all the other artworks without interruption and actually been able to enjoy her experience for once. The paintings had been colorful, lively and full of imaginative motives that one would think a cynical, realistic woman like herself would snort at but in contrast to popular belief looking at fairies, stuffed animals and unicorns had been exactly what she needed after a stressful week of deliveries that didn't get on time, demanding clients and staff who never seemed to remember the rules.  
This Megurine-person was most certainly talented and if Meiko had had more money in her pocket she would definitely have bought some to decorate her wall with back at the apartment. But perhaps if she was lucky the exhibition would stay here until tomorrow. And if she was even luckier she wouldn't be disturbed by....  
"Well, hey there my beautiful!"  
Well damn it! No such luck. Meiko glared as she turned around to look into the knowing grin of a nuisance she absolutely didn't want to be reminded of.  
"I guess I shouldn't bother asking what you want", she said with barely restrained anger, "so I will simply tell you what I want and that is for you to get the hell away from me and stay there. Not that you care anyway", she added with a dark look.  
But just as expected the only thing she got as a reply was a slight frown and instances after an amused chuckle.  
"Geez!" the blue haired man said, "you're only looking more and more familiar with each second. If you looked as though you were going to chew me up and spit me out before you're looking as though you're going to place me into a shredder, stitch me up and then shred me up again. A thousand times".  
"And still you're standing here", she gave him a piercing stare that didn't exactly contradict his statement.  
"Well, yeah" the man frowned, "because it's kinda hard to ignore the fact that that murderous stare of yours seems awfully familiar".  
"Perhaps I murdered you in your previous life", Meiko hissed, her cold gaze penetrated the man's.  
"Very possible", the man laughed genuinely.  
"Indeed", Meiko said coldly, "seems I better go before I murder you in this life to".  
Before the man had the time to open his mouth again Meiko turned her back on him the sound of her heels tapping against the sidewalk filling the chilly air again. But she hadn't gone far before she felt a hand on her shoulder.  
"But come on! You must at least..."  
Meiko cut off the man half-sentence as she turned around with the secret weapon she'd snatched from her pocket in hand.  
"Don't!" she exclaimed as she pointed the kuvert-pen at him, "just don't!"  
"Okey, okey!" the man's eyes widened as he put his hands in the air, "I get it, I get it! I'm still not sure what you're planning to do with that", the man frowned, "draw mustaches on me? But I get it. I was disrespectful and I apologize. I'm not sure for what but well..."  
Meiko snorted as she glared back at him. He was being pushy, flirty, blunt and frighteningly persistent, what was there NOT to apologize for?  
"Oh", she said, "you can rest assured that I can do quite a few things with this one", she held up the pen demonstratively, "but if you follow my request and stay the hell away from me you won't have to find out".  
"I'm sure you can", the man said calmly, a frown still on his face, "you look like the type who mean business but I'm sure not even you would go as far as to commit murder on a public place".  
Meiko glared back at him before letting her gaze wander around the masses. To her great dismay she had to admit that he was right. She definitely wanted to get rid of him but not to the point that she wanted to risk an arrest.  
"I tell you what", the man gave a nearly triumphant smile "I'll give into your request on one condition", his mischievous gaze lingered on her for an alarmingly long time, "Let me buy you dinner".  
If even such a thing was possible Meiko's glare got even more murderous. Sure it wasn't precisely an unexpected request for someone this pushy but for someone being under direct physical threat it most certainly was a confident move.  
"Think about it", he said, "you won't have to pay for dinner tonight, I will never bother you again and above all", he grinned, arms falling to his sides, "you won't have to commit murder in public".  
Meiko sighed. Spending an entire evening listening to this man's pointless rambling was far from a tempting idea but if it meant never having to listen to his pointless rambling ever again it might be worthwhile.  
"I'm not as awful as I look", the man continued in a more serious tone, "just give me one chance. If I misbehave you have my permission to jam that pen into my artery vein as hard as you like".  
Meiko gave a resigned sigh before looking at the man again.  
"Promise?" she said.  
"Absolutely", the man grinned again, "that's a definitive".  
"Then I guess it's doable", Meiko shrugged her shoulders, "but just so you know you won't get a goodbye kiss".  
"That's okey", the man gave a calm smile, "so off we go then?"

_._

"So are there ringing any bells yet?" the blue haired man smiled calmly as he looked at Meiko from the other side of the table.  
Meiko sighed as she looked back at him. The strange, nuisance of a man had taken her to an Italian Restaurant nearby and was now currently looking at her expectantly.  
"No, not really", she said, "I can't help you there, sorry".  
Truth to say though that meaningful grin of his had most definitely rang a bell somewhere in the depth of her mind but if she said that out loud she had a feeling he'd be stalking her for the rest of her life.  
"Oh no!" the man grinned meaningfully as he pointed at her, "you're not getting away with this one. I can see there's something going on there".  
Meiko sighed resignedly as she now had the feeling that she'd get stalked for the rest of her life if she didn't give him SOMETHING.  
"Okey", she said, "I definitely remember that grin and I remember that it annoyed the hell out of me at times"  
Just as she expected the man's eyes sparkled with mischief.  
"Aha!" he said, "so not aaaall the time?"  
Meiko shook her head, giving another sigh as she looked at him, a ghost of a smile on her face.  
"Okey", she said, "not aaall the time".  
"And the rest of the time you found me awfully charming?" he smiled teasingly.  
To her great dismay Meiko couldn't really contradict him. True, she didn't really remember him but she had to say that her female intuition in lack of a better word didn't speak of someone entirely annoying.  
"At least not completely unbearable", she said, eyebrows raised.  
The man looked at her in silence, a somewhat contemplating look on his face before giving a nod, a slight frown on his face.  
"That will do I guess", he gave a crooked smile, "it's better at least than 'all I could think about was jamming the pen down his artery veins".  
Meiko couldn't help but let a slight smile make its way up her face. No, at least he didn't entirely lack self-distance.  
"I still might", she said although this time her tone was a bit softer, "don't you forget your promise".  
"Oh no!" the man frowned again, "I couldn't forget that one if I tried. Besides", the man's youthful face suddenly reflected a seriousness that seemed way beyond his years, "I just don't break promises. Sure, I don't give many but well...", he smiled sheepishly, "those I give I stick to".  
Meiko looked at him in silence, critically looking over his face. Regardless if he was honest or not she was certain that he was honest with himself but honest with yourself didn't really mean anything in the long run. Too many unrealistic clients had shown her that.  
"A bit naive", she said, "don't you think?"  
The man shrugged his shoulders.  
"All things are relative", he said, "there's a certain difference in promising someone a castle and promising someone a trip out to the country-side".  
Meiko looked at him, eyes narrowed. She guessed that made some kind of sense but not even a trip to the country-side was a promise you could be 100 % certain to keep because the conditions today wasn't necessarily the conditions for tomorrow.  
"And you?" the man looked at her with half a smile, "don't you keep all your promises?"  
Meiko looked at him in silence for a moment.  
"Things are not that simple", she said, "at one moment the pretenses for keeping a promise are perfect but in only instances they can change into something that makes even the most simple promise impossible to keep".  
"Hmm", the man looked at her with a curious smile as he leaned forwards, eyebrows supported against the table, "and what might those pretenses be?"  
"There are many such pretenses", Meiko said with the same ruthless calm that she'd learnt to manage during all her years as a business-woman, "I could promise you dinner at my place but if a fire all of a sudden breaks out in the building I'd have no kitchen to cook in".  
"But surely the kitchen won't be ruined for all days to come", the man said calmly, "and if that is the case you could always invite me to your new home?”  
"Who is to say that I didn't die in the fire?" Meiko shrugged her shoulders.  
The man frowned, shaking his head.  
"Wow!" he said, scratching the back of his head, "that's a very errhm... depressing view. Have you always been this positive?"  
Meiko shook her head, sighing softly.  
"I guess", she said a ghost of a smile, spreading out over her face, "rather avoid getting your hopes up than getting them dropped down from the 58th floor and crush your head".  
"Wow!" the man gave out a loud sigh before smiling meaningfully, "you really need a good cheer-up. Geez! You're making my sister look like a bundle of joy".  
Meiko was just about to open her mouth to reply when she was interrupted by a polite male-voice.  
"Pasta marinara?", the white-dressed man look questioningly at her.  
"Yes", Meiko nodded before the waiter put down the plate in front of her.  
"Pasta bolognese?"  
"Over here", her blue haired companion raised his hand.  
As the waiter put the plate down and disappeared out of sight the man sitting in front of her returned to grinning knowingly.  
"Now", he said, "if this pasta doesn't help change your view on the world I don't know what will".  
Meiko shook her head as she smiled a tired yet genuine smile.  
"We'll see about that", she said.

_._

But Meiko most certainly DID notice a slight difference. If it was due to the surprisingly tasty pasta or the surprisingly endurable company she had no idea but gradually the smiles she gave in response to the man's words became more and more genuine and she found herself less and less annoyed with the subjects he brought up.  
"So that's me", the blue haired man let his hands fall to the sides, "it may seem like a foolish dream but detective-novels has been a passion of mine since childhood", he grinned sheepishly.  
"Oh", Meiko chuckled, raising an eyebrow, "you learn new things every day".  
"Oh, come on!" the man exclaimed, pretended hurt on his face, "do I really come off as that uncultivated to you?"  
"Well...", Meiko gave an amused slightly secretive smile, "not necessarily uncultivated but not enough old in mind to appreciate that kind of thing".  
"Come on!" the man said again, "besides", he looked back at her with a calm smile, "a young spirit prolongs life. What happened to you anyway for you to have such a lovely view on the world?" he frowned.  
Meiko shrugged her shoulders as she looked back at him. She was well aware that she didn't truly have any satisfactory answer to give him, not the 'my parents abandoned me when I was 7 years old', not the 'I was made a widow only 1 year after I was married' or even the 'my husband cheated on me'-kind of answer because as much as she wasn't against lying to get annoying men off her back she had her limits as to what kind of rubbish one could make up during the course of one night. Yet she was also painfully aware that the man wasn't going to leave without one.  
"I'm just a realist", she replied calmly.  
"Really?" the man looked at her skeptically, "a successful, beautiful businesswoman who as it seems succeeded in everything she put her mind to claims it's realistic to expect the worst out of everything".  
"Always expect the worst and you'll always be positively surprised", she said carelessly.  
The man only maintained his skeptical expression for an instant before breaking out into a knowing grin.  
"Aha!" he pointed meaningfully at her. "I knew there was 'some' positivity hidden in there".  
"Excuse me?" Meiko raised an eyebrow, "but where in my sentence could you trace the positivity?”  
"You mean you can't tell?" the man grinned, "you just admitted to there being some kind of possibility to being positively surprised. Else you would have said something in the style of 'always expect the worst and you'll never be disappointed' instead".  
"I'm sorry", she said calmly as though reading a line from a play, "I meant, always expect the worst and you'll never be disappointed, of course".  
The man laughed, shaking his head.  
"No, no", he said, "I'm not falling for this one. You my dear are a text-book example of a tsundere-optimist. You may be hiding behind layers and layers of skepticism and cynic wits but deep inside you are a maiden-hearted romantic persistently believing that all dreams comes true".  
Meiko shook her head. A small albeit genuine smile on her face.  
"You're going to be disappointed", she said matter of factually, "because if you were to get a chance to peek inside my soul you'd find something as flat and pitch-black as that wall over there", she pointed towards a smooth, beautiful yet incredibly bland tile constellation next to them.  
"Oh no!" the man grinned, "I'm not falling for that one. Your soul is like one of my sister's artworks, an explosion of bright colors. You, just like her", he focused his blue gaze on hers with that strange sort of seriousness that just didn't go well with the rest of him, "don't really know it yet".  
"Your sister" Meiko's eyes widened, "is she in the art-business?"  
"Yup", the man grinned knowingly at her, "you mean you don't know?"  
Meiko frowned. How on earth was she supposed to know that? Sure, the man was joking around about memories from past lives back and forth but believing her to be some kind of mind-reader was taking things a tad bit too far wasn't it?  
"Megurine Luka", the man exclaimed an amused smile on his face, "you were looking at her artworks just hours ago, you even witnessed her scolding me. Can you seriously tell me that you don't remember?"  
Meiko's mouth widened as she starred at the man in front of her.  
"That was her?" she exclaimed.  
"Yeah", the man laughed cheerfully as he looked the perplexed young woman, "you seriously had no idea?"  
Meiko looked back at him in silence too embarrassed to talk.  
"Oh dear!" she slapped her palm against her forehead, "how thoughtless", she muttered, "and here I went treating her like any other person".  
The man laughed softly.  
"Oh no!" he said, "I think Luka-chan appreciates being treated like any other person for once because opposite to what one may think she isn't too fond of these kind of events", he frowned, "she loves painting but being asked a million questions by a million pompous art-enthusiasts, not so much. Still, she has to promote herself somehow".  
Meiko nodded. Oh, yes she definitely knew how tiring clients could be. If she could she'd rather spend 80% of the time it took convincing people about this whole thing with realistic expectations being rather good, working on new sketches instead but just like the man said one had to promote oneself somehow.  
"I think you two would like each other though", the man grinned, "same positive outlook on life, same positive outlook on charming, handsome young men".  
Meiko rolled her eyes yet with a smile on her face.  
"If the charming young men in question are whom I think they are", she said, "then I am not too surprised if many other women share the same view".  
The man only laughed in response, raising a meaningful eyebrow.  
"You also share the same charming manner of expressing it", he said, "honestly though. I saw you checking out her paintings", he said in a more serious tone, "maybe I could fix you up with a friend-prize".  
Meiko gave a meaningful smile as she shook her head.  
"Oh no!" she said as she raised her index finger, "I'm not falling for that one".  
"What?" the man's eyes widened, a confused look on his face.  
"You're trying to get yourself another date", Meiko said, "to the reduced prize of a painting. And I'm not falling for that".  
"Hmm...", the man frowned in pretended thoughtfulness, a hand on his chin, "too bad that didn't work. How about...", his face shone up as he raised an index-finger, "a completely free painting".  
Meiko laughed as she shook her head again.  
"You are completely hopeless", she said, "there's simply no helping it".  
"Yup", the man smiled as he leaned back in his chair, "and I take pride in that trait of mine".  
Meiko let out a sigh.  
"I should have suspected that reply", she said.  
"Mhm", the man nodded, "yet, admit that that deal sounds tempting".  
"Well...", Meiko looked at her company with an unreadable half smile, "is the alternative of pen-stabbing when breaking one's promise still present?"  
The man smiled meaningfully as he placed his hand to his forehead.  
"Oh boy!" he said, "seems I'm gonna have to go with 3 if I should even have the slightest chance of escaping that pen".  
Meiko frowned as she raised an index-finger.  
"You do realize that you're making a very tricky promise now", she looked calmly at him.  
"Promise?" the man grinned again, "who said I PROMISED said paintings? Besides", his face returned to a more serious expression, "why would you assume that I'm so bad at keeping promises?"  
Meiko looked at him in silence as she felt the humorous atmosphere dissipating. Oh, yes she would definitely have to admit that she presumed everyone to be bad at keeping promises somehow but she would also have to admit that the whole thing about this man and broken promises somehow felt awfully familiar.  
The man looked back at her, an almost alarming intensity in his eyes as though he was literally attempting to snake inside her head.  
"Was it something I said now or...?" he lowered his voice, giving her a meaningful look.  
Meiko met his gaze trying her hardest to focus on the answers which refused to reveal themselves to her. He seemed so familiar, this particular emotion seemed so familiar, the distrust, the anger, the disappointment, the...  
"Did I break my promise?" the man's voice was soft, his gaze dead serious.  
Meiko looked back at him in the same silence as before. She knew exactly what he meant and the fact that she couldn't give even herself a proper answer frustrated her beyond words. Meiko was always one step ahead, always had a plan of action for any possible or implausible scenario she may face but now she was lost, utterly lost inside memories which refused to make themselves known to her.  
"Not to me", she said finally.  
The man looked at her in silence for a while, his face if possible even more serious before finally nodding. He didn't need to do anything else.  
Because she knew that he understood, and she knew that he knew that she understood despite of the fact that none of them could see the big picture yet.  
"But I may as well have been", he said after a while. It was a statement not a question.  
Meiko nodded. They both knew it to be true.

_._

 

"So really?" the blue haired man grinned as he and Meiko made their way home from the restaurant, "prom-dresses, castles but no princes?"  
"Nope", Meiko stated matter of factually, "just as many princes as there were dragons".  
After that serious revelation a few hours ago the 10 minutes silence had been followed by a more light-mannered conversation about their current life-styles. While the man had learnt that Meiko spent 80% of her time designing, trying to speak sense to clients who seemed to believe that she was some kind of magician who could create a thousand dresses in 10 seconds and with some outer-wordly power have them transported to them in 5 and make sure her employees actually ordered the fabrics you ASKED for and not a cheap curtain with badly drawn vomit-colored ducks on and the other 20 percent sleeping, watching TV and on occasion going to art-shows Meiko had learnt that the man other than being an aspiring author earned his living by working in a book-store and on occasion as a magician on children's parties. When Meiko had asked if it wasn't a contradiction to write about revealing the truth and at the same time providing people with illusions on a daily basis he'd only replied with an ingenious smile and a wink that "there was more than just one truth".  
Needless to say Meiko had left the subject be with a tired smile and a head shake well aware that that there were some things in this world that you'd never understand.  
"Princesses?" the man tilted his head to a side, a meaningful eyebrow raised.  
"That'd be convenient wouldn't it?" Meiko looked at him with a meaningful half-smile, "would heal your manly ego wouldn't it?"  
"No, not in the slightest", the man chuckled as he placed a hand on his heart,"if anything it would only contribute to crushing my last sliver of hope", he gave a dramatic sigh.  
Meiko raised an eyebrow she looked at him with an amused smile.  
"You mean I didn't crush every last sliver before", she said.  
The man frowned.  
"Quite close", he said, "but I still believe in that 0,0009 percent", his ingenious grin returned, "because that 0,0009 chance still exists doesn't it?"  
Meiko looked at him in silence. She had to admit that the man was a lot more pleasant than she'd first given him credit for. He was funny, warm, attentive and surprisingly respectful in his straightforward manner, but that tended to be exactly the problem didn't it? The ones whom appeared too good to be true usually were.  
"0, 0009 is probably quite accurate", she said, "if I actually dated", she added with a meaningful look.  
"Yeah", the man scratched his blue hair before looking back at her thoughtfully, "the whole no princes-policy right?"  
"Exactly", Meiko nodded calmly.  
"Hmm...." the man looked at her thoughtfully, hand on his chin, "am I allowed to ask where this policy comes from?  
"It is very simple", Meiko looked at him calmly, "with love comes sacrifices as does ambition and you simply cannot afford so many sacrifices at once".  
"Hm...", the man said again, an ingenious half smile on his face "you haven't considered the fact that it may come great gifts with both as well?"  
"Ambition yes", Meiko said without moving a single face-muscle, "romance", she shrugged her shoulders, "not so sure".  
"Really?" the man's eyes lingered on hers with that uncharacteristic seriousness that seemed to peak out from time to time, "and who says that love and ambition can't go hand in hand?"  
Meiko shook her head as she looked at him with an unbreakable cool.  
"For a man maybe", she said, "but not for a woman. A woman's heart is far more likely to rule all other factors out. If she trusts her heart", despite of the smile a grim expression took over her brown gaze, "all other things may be lost for all days to come".  
"And what makes you think that the heart of men aren't vulnerable?" the man's blue eyes lingered on hers.  
Meiko looked at him in silence. Once again she didn't have any satisfying answer to give him and above all not herself. The few relationships she'd had in her life had been restricted to a few lunch-dates, walks in the park and maybe a slow-dance at a banquet before she'd decided that that particular man was a distraction to her career and ended them. She didn't really have that classic tear stained heartbreak to refer to, nor the classic excuse of having been a divorce-child since her parents as far as she knew still lived happily married somewhere in Japan. So why, just why had the constant feelings of heartbreak and betrayal seemed so familiar throughout her entire life?  
"Call it female intuition", she shrugged her shoulders.  
"Nope!" the man said matter of factually, a calm smile on his face, "I'll call it female prejudice".  
Meiko looked at him in silence a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. One could say a lot of things about his persistence and bluntness but wits was most certainly nothing that he lacked.  
"Seriously!" the man exclaimed, "this whole thing with teaching women to be weary of philanderers here and there", he frowned, "don't get me wrong. Being a big brother myself I think that's a great thing", he paused as he looked back at her, "to a certain extent. Teaching them that all men are philanderers is just detrimental to everyone".  
Meiko gave a knowing smile.  
"So you seriously mean to tell me that you haven't left a trail of broken hearts behind you?" she said.  
"A trail is an exaggeration", the man frowned, "but yes. I won't deny that not all love-stories have a happy ending".  
"Hm...", Meiko looked skeptically at him, "I don't really know what to make of that but well..."  
"Just make of it exactly what I said that all love-stories don't have a happy ending", the man said matter of factually, "but also that not all of them have BAD endings".  
"A good 90% of them have", Meiko shrugged her shoulders, "and for me that's a perfectly good reason enough to stick to the field where I can earn a living".  
The man gave her a once-over, a gentle expression in his eyes.  
"I get to settle for 'not being stabbed with a kuvert-pen' right?" he raised a meaningful eyebrow.  
"I'm afraid so", Meiko laughed softly as she gave him a sympathetic smile.  
"Well...", the man sighed as he placed a hand on his chin, "I guess that was a better ending than expected anyway".  
Meiko gave him a lingering gaze before making a decision she rarely made.  
"I had fun though", she said softly, "honestly. So thank you for a surprisingly pleasant evening", she reached out her right hand.  
The man's eyes widened in surprise before he slowly placed his hand in hers.  
"Well, my lady", he smiled, "the pleasure was all on my side".  
As the man pressed her hand with his it felt as though the warmth of his palm spread all the way into Meiko's being. She felt a certain peace, a certain happiness that she hadn't felt in a long time and she didn't really feel like letting go quite yet.  
"There was some on my side as well", she gave an amused smile.  
"Glad to hear", the man said softly as they finally let go.  
Meiko couldn't deny that her palm was filled with a certain emptiness as his hand left hers but nonetheless she smiled carelessly.  
"But what is this?" the man's eyes widened as he picked up the small card placed in his hand, "Sakine Meiko", he grinned excitedly as he read the stylish katakana, "who might that be?"  
"Looks like you're not the only one who knows magic after all", Meiko shrugged her shoulders as she smiled meaningfully.  
For a while the man seemed to look even more surprised before his blue eyes shone in a way that put the golden chain around Meiko's neck to shame, and his lips split into a smile more beautiful than that of any Disney-Prince.  
"Did I just...?" he started saying.  
"Survive this date without getting stabbed yes", Meiko grinned knowingly.  
"Well... I'll be dammed", the man muttered as he looked at the card as though it had been the treasure at the end of the rainbow.  
They looked at each other silently again before the man picked a similar card out of his coat-pocket.  
"Here", he grinned as he reached it over to her, "we better be even".  
"But you bought me dinner", Meiko smiled amusedly as she accepted the card, "wouldn't that put me in debt again?"  
The man raised an eyebrow, shaking his head.  
"Nope", he said knowingly, "I annoyed and stalked you for half the day so we're even alright".  
Meiko laughed softly.  
"The pasta made up for it", she said before taking a look at the card, "Shion Kaito?" she raised an eyebrow, "not Megurine?"  
"Half-siblings", the man stated with another grin, "people always get equally surprised. But after all it's not that surprising because that's what we usually a...", the man interrupted himself mid-sentence as though his own words were a flies he he´d just been about to swallow.  
"You're usually what?" Meiko looked curiously at him. "I have no idea to be honest", the man looked so puzzled that Meiko couldn't help but frown herself, "I actually have no idea where on earth that came from. Anyway", he looked back at her with his normal cheerfulness, "are you returning to the exhibition tomorrow?"  
Despite of wanting to ask the man a thousand question about his cut-off sentence Meiko simply gave a mischievous smile.  
"Hm... I don't know", she said, "I have an awful lot to do".  
"Come on!" the man begged twisting his hands, "you can meet my sister and you both can speak about your lovely pitch-black view of the world. Maybe if you seem bitter enough she'll even give you that friend-prize I spoke of".  
Meiko placed a hand on her chin looking at him in mocked thoughtfulness.  
"I don't know", she said, "what if all my favorite paintings are already sold out?"  
"Come on!" the man exclaimed as he looked at her with puppy-eyes, "I'll buy you another pasta".  
"Okey then", Meiko laughed softly, "I'll show up tomorrow. Only on one condition though", she raised her index-finger, "I'll pay for the pasta this time".  
The man's eyes widened again in surprise before he smiled that smile again. The one that wasn't overly confident or teasing but genuinely happy and maybe a slight bit moved.  
"Do you promise to show up then?" he said.  
Meiko grinned as she picked that infamous pen up from her pocket.  
"Absolutely", she said, "if I don't stick to my promise you have my word that I will personally jam this down my own artery-vein".  
The man frowned.  
"Considering your view on things that doesn't sound very reassuring", he said.  
"Okay", Meiko gave a tired smile, "to be specific I promise not to jam this pen down my artery vein".  
The man's face broke in another teasing grin.  
"But we don't know", he said, "your apartment might have burnt to the ground by then".  
Meiko sighed before raising an eyebrow.  
"I had that one coming", she admitted, "but let's just say that my apartment simply has to be as good as to stand solid another day".  
"That's the spirit!" the man chuckled, "show that apartment who's in charge".  
Meiko laughed as she shook her head.  
"Anyway", she said, "go get some sleep now before you stop making sense entirely. I will see you tomorrow".  
"Whatever you wish my liege", the man made an elegant bow before turning his back on her, "tomorrow it is".  
Meiko looked smilingly at the man as his made his way towards the buss-station. Just as expected it hadn't taken long before he started making a strange little leap-dance and singing loudly and teasingly.  
"I got a number, I got a number".  
Meiko laughed as she shook her head. As much as she hated to admit it she actually looked forwards to tomorrow.  
"I got one too!" she called after him, "so don't get cocky!"  
"But mine is better!" the man called back.  
"Yeah, yeah whatever!" she called out before smilingly making her way towards the train-station. She honestly wasn't sure that the one given to him was 'better' after all.

_._

Luka sighed as she looked at the painting in front of her. Still not quite there. The light brown hair, the kind dark eyes, the red school-uniform and that ridiculous idea of a skirt that did little to hide the girl's underwear. The picture was perfect in every sense of the word but it was still not HER. There was a crucial piece of the puzzle missing for it to be, a piece that...  
The artist jumped in her chair as the sound of the key going through the ignition and the loud voice of her brother ripped her from her thoughts.  
"Oi Luka-chan! How are you doing?" Kaito called out cheerfully as he stepped into the room.  
"Good!" Luka frowned as she stood up, "except for the fact that you nearly gave me a heart attack it all works perfectly fine".  
"Sorry", Kaito grinned sheepishly as he looked at his sister, "old habits die hard I guess".  
The blue haired man quickly stepped out of his shoes and hung up his coat before calmly walking up to the kitchen-table.  
"Her? Again?" he looked questionably at the far too lightly dressed girl on the paper.  
"Yes", Luka sighed as she looked skeptically at her work, "she just isn't coming out right".  
"Well", Kaito frowned, "she looks perfectly fine from here. Especially those", he drew a loud whistle as he looked at the practically bare thighs.  
"Hm..."  
Luka said displeased ignoring her brother's naughty implication,  
"there's simply something missing and I can't figure out what it is".  
"A proper skirt for one", Kaito grinned, "not that I mind of course", he added in a low voice and with a raised eyebrow.  
Luka shook her head, a tired smile on her lips as she playfully slapped her brother on the back of his head.  
"Seriously though", Kaito said calmly, "this looks amazing. Stop being so self-critical!”  
"Not really self-critical", Luka said, "I'm mostly just frustrated that the thought won't display itself on paper", she sighed.  
"It will come eventually", Kaito laughed softly, "my books refuses to cooperate at times but I've solved it all so far, haven't I? Speaking of which", he looked at her curiously, "that whole Satoko-story, how is it coming along? That you know...", he frowned thoughtfully, "the adventures of Satoko?"  
Luka glared at her brother as realization struck her.  
"Sakutaro", she said, "and how on earth did you find out about that?"  
"Well", Kaito gave an ingenious smile, "you know when I came here to get my stack of cards the other day I stumbled across this really amazing script. I was this close to sending it into a publisher", he brought his index-finger and thumb close together, "but then I ended up thinking that it might be a good idea to let my sister have some say in this after all".  
"I should seriously consider confiscating your keys", Luka muttered, "send that script anywhere and you're dead".  
"I figured", Kaito grinned sheepishly, "that's why I placed it in that super-secret drawer again. But why Kotobuki Yukari?"  
"Because I needed to give you something to question of course", Luka muttered again, "why else? Enough about me though", she looked at him questioningly, "I suspect you didn't come here at 12 o'clock in the night to speak of pseudonyms?"  
Kaito smiled ingeniously, almost guiltily.  
"Maybe", he said, "maybe not".  
Luka's eyes calmly settled on his before she finally opened her mouth to speak, "you went out with her, didn't you?"  
"Yeah", Kaito nodded slowly.  
Luka drew a deep sigh.  
"Can't take you anywhere nice, can I?" she said.  
"Well, to my defense it wasn't duriiing the exhibition in question", Kaito's guilty smile remained, "and we never went further than a handshake".  
Luka raised an eyebrow. Sure, the woman at the exhibition had seemed guarded enough but for Kaito to be out with a beautiful woman for an entire night without attempting to take things further than a handshake was something absurdly impressive.  
"So you want to see her again?" it was a statement, not a question.  
"Yeah", he nodded again, a frighteningly serious expression on his face, "many more times".  
"Hm...", Luka looked at him thoughtfully, a hand on her chin, "so when are you meeting her again?"  
"In fact tomorrow", Kaito's face brightened up as though he'd just won on the lottery, "at your exhibition. I may have fixed you a potential client", he winked meaningfully at his sister.  
"Hm...", Luka looked at him with an unreadable half smile, "to my exhibition. Then this girl has to be pretty special, right? Because you know what I'll do to you if you mess things up with any of my clients", she gave him a warning glance.  
"Yeah, I know", the seriousness returned to Kaito's gaze "so indeed she is well... pretty special".  
"In what way?" Luka asked curiously.  
"Well, she is smart", Kaito said, "kind, funny and I feel like...", his facial expression looked almost dreamy for an instant, "as though our fates are intertwined somehow".  
Luka's mouth fell wide-opened. The moment Kaito used words such as 'fate' was the same moment that the roof would crash down on her head. Kaito regardless of being a hopeless optimist and a party-wizard was a very down to earth person and constantly said that fate was the exact same thing as dreams you worked hard to obtain so when he used such a word someone really must have made a powerful impression on him.  
"And what if your connection was the fact that she used to be your aunt in your previous life?" she asked, only half-joking.  
Despite of the quickness of the reply Kaito still looked dead serious.  
"Well, she isn't my aunt now is she?" he said calmly.  
"Probably not", Luka stated.  
They looked at each other in silence for another moment before Kaito returned to smiling his usual careless smile.  
"In any case", he said, "she's a big fan of your art so who knows", he smiled ingeniously, "you might sell big. Anyway", he shrugged his shoulders, "since this can kind of be considered a date I'll have to raid my closet tonight so well... see you tomorrow", Kaito placed a kiss on the pink haired woman's cheek before quickly making his way to the door.  
Luka starred utterly perplexed at her brother as he threw on his coat and shoes.  
"Sleep tight", Kaito called out before opening the door.  
"Well... sleep tight", Luka managed to squeeze out in the midst of her mute surprise.  
The artist shook her head, sleepily rubbing her eyes as the door was closed behind her brother.  
'Well she isn't my aunt now is she?' Luka wasn't sure what she thought about that reasoning but whether she liked it or not she didn't have much say in that question. For not only was Kaito an adult, he was also not as informed about certain things as she herself was and she wasn't going to be the one to ruin his image of the world once things finally were going well for him.  
Maybe it was exactly as he'd implied. Past lives were called 'past lives' for a reason and maybe some things were better left forgotten. Luka took another look at her painting, her blue eyes fixed on the mild brown pair in front of her.  
Yes, maybe some things were better left forgotten but no matter how much she tried she knew there was one thing she'd never forget.  
"Please my friend", she whispered at the girl captured inside the rough paper, "return soon".

**Author's Note:**

> So here ya go! I was extremely unsure as to whether to tag this as incest or not since they just like Kaito said aren´t related in this world but I´d rather be safe than sorry. And, I´m guessing you can figure out by now who Luka is representing in this fic ;). 
> 
> The funny thing is that what initially made me ship Battler x Rosa, believe it or not is how heavily I associated them with Kaito and Meiko respectively, whom are as well a very strong OTP of mine. Believe it or not, I generally detest incest (especially if the age-difference is as big as it is between Rosa and Battler) so I really couldn´t figure out how I could be so drawn to this ship until just recently when I realized how much they reminded me of one of my favorite vocaloid-duos. Everything from Kaito´s hair-style, their voices and their respective eye-colors to the facial expressions they´re so often drawn with to their most common fanon-personalities gives me instant Battler and Rosa-associations, something that is extra striking in the drawn PV for the KaiMei cover of Melt.   
> I have however always loved the interaction between Battler and Rosa, for one the fact that Battler´s pretty much the only person Rosa can truly argue with as an equal who nor belittles her like her siblings nor runs from her like his cousins or the servants. In any case, in their regular universe I can only see them as a tragic, bittersweet sort of ship where the feelings never even become outspoken (sorry, I just can´t see the whole passionate sex-act that people are talking about) which is why the idea of them being reborn as Kaito and Meiko makes me so happy because in the Vocaloid-world there´s no mutual blood or high age-difference to make the ship inappropriate. 
> 
> In any case, I may or may not add another chapter depending on how I feel and what I come up with. 
> 
> Just to warn you though, any comments saying obvious things such as "wtf? You know that Rosatrice isn´t canon right?" will be deleted because while people are entitled to their opinions I do not have the patience to re-read things that I´ve already stated in the AN, and I have quite the frustrating experience behind me when it comes to that looovely channel named Youtube. 
> 
> With that said though. Hope you enjoyed :).


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